Potatoes wilted

mrbadexample

I've got holes in the bags. I've been watering them pretty well, just about every day.

What I can't get my head round is the fact that only one plant seems affected. The others look great.

savemoney

wssla00

Mine did this but it was because I had gone away for the weekend and the heat had sort of wilted the stems as I hadn't been out to water. I stupidly got rid but thinking about it they would been fine.

ukbill69

I think maybe to many plants wanting space and water and that one lost the battle, I might be wrong.

Yorkie1

Have you damaged the stem of that plant at all when watering?

mrbadexample

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Have you damaged the stem of that plant at all when watering?

I did try and check for that, but I can't see anything wrong.

mrbadexample

ukbill69 wrote: »

I think maybe to many plants wanting space and water and that one lost the battle, I might be wrong.

Could be. I thought three in the one bag might be pushing it. Hopefully, it's done enough to produce a few spuds before it pegs out.

Optimisticpair

If there is no sign of disease my guess is if it is a multi-purpose compost which dried out at the core during a hot spell the water given may not have re-wet it all through.

The potatoes in my big rigid plastic tubs have fared better in the prolonged hot and dry spells than those in the compost bags and the smaller buckets because, I think, of the greater volume of soil mixture remaining cooler and retaining moisture.

jabba4

Optimisticpair wrote: »

If there is no sign of disease my guess is if it is a multi-purpose compost which dried out at the core during a hot spell the water given may not have re-wet it all through.

Aye. It's almost never as wet as you think it is.

I've found that by giving the bags a good watering, then repeating a while later it makes a better job of the watering. When the compost is really dry (whether in patches or all through) the water runs off/through before it has a chance to get really absorbed.

Also, if you always water into the same part of the growbag, there is a chance that another part of the same bag doesn't really get that mutch moisture.

mrbadexample

I've just checked, and the bag is nice and moist throughout. I've been particularly attentive - the compost has never dried out.